Analysis

Hats off to Rajasthan police

The Milli Gazette

Published Online: Feb 11, 2016

Print Issue: 16-31 January 2016

Rajasthan police has recently performed so well in a case that it deserves commendation. Dausa (Jaipur) Muslims also share the police in this praiseworthy act. As reported, Jaipur police filed a case against two journalists of the famous Hindi newspaper, Dainik Bhaskar, in which one was a reporter and the other a photographer, and arrested the reporter. By publishing a baseless news item, the reporter had labelled the Muslims of Dausa as pro-Pakistan. Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundra Raje Scindia was scheduled to tour Dausa on 17 December. Therefore, the whole administration was geared for the preparations for this tour.

At such a time, a photographer of the said Hindi daily clicked a photograph of the front portion of the roof of a house in Halwai Bazar and the reporter wrote the sensational report: “The ceiling of a house in Halwai Bazar displays a Pakistani flag”. This house is owned by one Abdul-Khaleel, a Muslim. As soon as the news was published, the administration became proactive and the residents showed their resentment by starting protests against the report. But, it was satisfying that neither they lost their senses nor committed any violent act. Instead, they took their Muslim brethren with them and showed them the reality of what was flying on the roof of the said house and what the reporter had alluded to. Justice-loving Hindus also agreed with Muslims of Halwai Bazar.

On the other hand, Dausa police made enquiries at their own level and found that it was a usual flag which some Muslims display on their houses on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. This green flag had a moon and a star painted over it but it had no markings of Pakistan. Enquiries proved that the flag had religious overtones rather than a political one. Such flags are hoisted on roof-tops at this occasion not only in Dausa but also in many other parts of the country.

The role Dausa police played in this episode was definitely praiseworthy. It took cognisance of the complaint by the house-owner, registered a case against the reporter and arrested him though normally it was expected otherwise from police in such matters. As usually in such a case, police would have arrested the house-owner immediately and newspapers would have splashed it with big headlines, TV channels would have run their breaking news all day long and the police would have also arrested “a group of terrorists” with links with Pakistan, causing a lot of trouble for many peace-loving people and masses would have believed that the Dausa Muslims were supporters of terrorism. But the police didn’t do any irresponsible act like that, for which it deserves thanks.

One more explanation needs to be made: that the police took so swift an action because the reporter had blamed the police and agencies for their “negligence”. Muslims of Dausa also deserve praise for their understanding and shrewdness, preferring legal redressal over strong reaction. Muslim of the whole country, in fact, have to take such courageous steps in such circumstances, when mischief-mongers are out to harm the Muslim minority without fear of law-enforcing authorities. In such a situation, the Muslims, on the one hand, have to utilise their legal rights, while on the other they have to awaken the good sense of the justice-loving countrymen to realise the truth. We have also to encourage the police and the administrative officers who consider the law as supreme in performance of their duties. Particularly praiseworthy in this case are the SP Dausa, IG Jaipur and SDM Dausa, who understood the delicacy of the situation and took legal action against the irresponsible correspondent of such a big paper. Similarly, the Rajasthan CM also deserves thanks. (Translated from Urdu by MG staff)

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